Tessa Souter, Jazz Vocalist
Friday, September 28, 2007
7:30 p.m.

Music Alive! kicks off its third season in high style, with New York-based jazz vocalist, composer and lyricist Tessa Souter. Born in London, of English and Trinidadian parents, Tessa's unique style--which infuses jazz with the soul and passion of flamenco, world, and Middle Eastern music--is winning praise from critics around the world. Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear a world-class artist, up close and personal. Music Alive! is proud to have WICN 90.5 FM (Worcester's jazz and folk station) as our media sponsor for this concert. Additional sponsors: WCCA-TV 13 and Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Festival of Lessons and Carols
The Wesley Choir and Festival Singers
Scott Lamlein, organist-choirmaster
Friday, December 14, 2007
7:30 p.m.

Carols and spoken word combine with great choral works by Malcolm Archer, Harold Friedell, Joel Martinson, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Tomas Luis da Victoria, Peter Warlock and others for a needed spiritual respite in busy December. For the first time this year, the Wesley Choir and Festival Singers will present the premiere of a commissioned choral work by composer Thomas Schuttenhem. It all begins with “Once in Royal David’s City…”

Children's Choir Festival
A Benefit Concert for Abby's House
Saturday, February 9, 2008
4:30 p.m.

Featuring the children’s choirs of Wesley Church, First Baptist Church of Worcester, First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, the Worcester Youth Chorus, and the Boy and Girl Choirs of All Saints Church, this event combines exciting young voices in song – benefiting Worcester’s youth and women in need. Choral directors include Malcolm Halliday, Leslie McBrayer, William Ness, and Peter Stoltzfus Berton.

Cj Sambach
Organ INformance: Friday, March 28, 2008, Daytime
Organ Recital: Sunday, March 30, 2008, 2:00 p.m.

Concert organist Cj Sambach demonstrates the amazing musical capabilities of the Wesley Skinner Organ in an INformance program for city youth, and then a full recital – don’t miss the sounds of a full symphony orchestra made by a single, talented musician and 4,500 pipes!

New England Brass Band
Sundberg Memorial Concert
Friday, April 25, 2008
7:30 p.m.

Patterned after the best of the British brass bands which were formed in the mid-19th century, this 30-piece brass and percussion ensemble has established itself as one of the premier brass groups in New England. Under the musical direction of Douglas Yeo, the NEBB achieved a First Place Finish in the 2006 North American Brass Band Association Honors Division. The warmth and richness of this all brass group makes for a unique sound, which is both full and nimble, sonorous and transparent.

Wesley's Organ Series
First Sunday of each month
October to June
12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

Wesley’s 73-rank Skinner pipe organ is once again featured monthly. These concerts are a wonderful opportunity to see and hear great organists, from Worcester and beyond, put all 5,000 pipes through their paces! Each half-hour concert is followed by an informal demonstration of the organ. Invite a friend to this popular series!

October 7, 2007: Douglas Bruce (Switzerland)
November 4, 2007: Scott Lamlein
December 2, 2007: Will Sherwood
January 6, 2008: Jacob Street (Organ Scholar, College of the Holy Cross)
February 3, 2008: Scott Lamlein
March 2, 2008: Scott Lamlein
April 6, 2008: Joseph Olefirowicz (Berlin, Germany and Methuen, MA)
May 4, 2008: Malcolm Halliday
June 1, 2008: Brenda Portman (Flint, MI)

The Music Alive! Concert Series has as its mission to offer first-rate musical performances as our gift to the greater Worcester community. The architectural and acoustical beauty of the sanctuary of Wesley United Methodist Church provides the perfect setting for musical performances, thus positioning Wesley as one of the premiere concert venues in downtown Worcester. Our promise is to present a diverse program of musical genres, including jazz, classical, traditional and cross-cultural, that will appeal to a wide audience.

A regular feature of Music Alive! is monthly, half-hour Pipes Alive! concerts, featuring master organists from the Greater Worcester area, as well as nationally and internationally known artists, on Wesley's 73-rank, 1927 E.M. Skinner pipe organ.

All Music Alive! and Pipes Alive! concerts are open to the public and offered at no cost. Artist fees and administrative costs are raised by free-will offerings at concerts, individual and corporate sponsorship, and program advertisements. Music Alive is supported in part by a grant from the Worcester Cultural Commission, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Please print this page as your reminder of each concert this season. We look forward to seeing you at all of them!

Donations are needed to keep Music Alive at Wesley Church!

Music Alive! Task Force:
Thomas Ingrassia, Managing Director
Lorraine Kronberg, Secretary/Treasurer
Johnnell Demery, Receiving Treasurer
Sue Proulx, Hospitality
Lanny Hilgar, Publications Coordinator

Publicity Committee:
George Proulx, Chair
Allison Hansen
Dorothy Palmgren

2005-6: Our Premiere Season
2006-7: Drums, Instruments and Voices